Hey everyone!

I’ve got a fun challenge that’s straight out of a final round HFT interview. It involves Mario and a monster in a 100x100 grid, and I bet it’ll get your brain buzzing!

Here’s the scenario:

• Mario and a monster spawn in a 100x100 grid as above Every minute, both move to an adjacent square randomly, but cannot move diagonally (can only move ⬅️ ➡️ ⬆️ ⬇️)
• Mario dies if they land on the same square
• After 1000 minutes, what is the probability that mario is dead?

Give it a shot! Let’s see who can solve it, and feel free to share your thought process. Happy solving!